Introduction
Historical context comparison
‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ (TKAM) is a book that explores multiple social issues at the time the story takes place in. It was published in 1960 and set in 1936. The story took place when the author, Harper Lee, was 10 years old. This was an age close to that of both Jem and Scout throughout the novel. This allowed the author to really capture the themes portrayed in the book, as they would have been at the time but through the eyes of a child. Despite TKAM being a work of fiction many of the acts of prejudice and racism did really occur in those times. Not only did black men have less rights and were seen lower than the lowest white man. If a black man did something wrong, like in the book, mobs would
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In TKAM many times the quote “It is a sin to kill a mockingbird” comes up and many of the characters have been identified as mockingbirds since it was first released. The main mockingbirds being Tom Robinson and Arthur “Boo” Radley these characters like mockingbirds “Don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy… they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." To paraphrase it is wrong to put harm towards someone who has done no wrong himself. Despite no wrong being performed by either Tom or Arthur, due to circumstance both of them are treated unequally to the ret of the population. Despite the concept of the mockingbird originating in TKAM, TBT also contains characters sharing the trait of the mockingbirds. Being set in Nazi Germany during the holocaust entire groups of people, especially Jews, could be seen as Mockingbirds however the story focuses on the character of Liesel, a little girl with communist parents who steals literature banned by the Nazi party. As well as Liesel, Max, a Jew hiding in her foster home from the Nazi’s could also be considered a Mockingbird. Both are either mocked, or in Max’s case hunted down due to what ‘category’ they were born into or what they do and/or believe in. Even Rudy is pushed down for making himself black to be more like Jesse Owens, a black American who won four gold medals in the 1936 Olympics held in Germany. Hitler was not pleased with Owens' triumph, but Rudy definitely was. To Rudy, black was beautiful, seeing past the propaganda surrounding him even at a young
Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird is based during the era of racism and prejudice. This era is commonly referred to as The Great Depression and is during the mid-late 30’s. The novel is set in a small town and county called Maycomb, Alabama. The novel follows the story of the Finch’s and their struggle before, during, and after a rape trial that is set against an African American by a white woman and her father.
Similar to The Book Thief, TKAM is written through the eyes of a young girl, Scout, the daughter of a lawyer, Atticus Finch who chooses to defend an innocent black man in court. The setting of TKAM is in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama where there is a social divide between black and white people and racism is extremely evident. The composer’s purpose was to write a semi-autobiographical story of her childhood in which she was exposed to racial prejudice. TKAM was published in 1960, a time where racial prejudice was still evident in the USA, and thus Lee hoped to expose and challenge these prejudices. The composer displays the notion of discovery through the character of Scout, as she sees firsthand the evil and prejudices of people in Maycomb as her father defends a black man in court. Scout learns many moral values from her father as he educates her to treat everyone equally. As Atticus quotes, “you never understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around.” Thus, as Scout is a young white girl, she does not understand the prejudices black people face, however as Atticus instils a social conscience into his children, Scout begins to understand the evil and racial prejudice of white people in Maycomb. Lee also uses symbolism of birds throughout TKAM to convey the notion of racial prejudice of the South through Atticus’s quote, “shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” Thus, to kill a mockingbird is to kill innocence as mockingbirds make music and do no harm. The composer uses this quote to convey that it is a sin to kill someone who has done no harm, thus meaning the innocent black man Atticus is defending in court. Moreover, the notion of discovery can be understood through the composer’s
Even though To Kill a Mockingbird was written in 1960’s the powerful symbolism this book contributes to our society is tremendous. This attribute is racism (Smykowski). To Kill a Mockingbird reveals a story about Scout’s childhood growing up with her father and brother, in an accustomed southern town that believed heavily in ethnological morals (Shackelford).
The book, To Kill a Mockingbird, takes place in the early 1930’s. The 1930’s was a decade of racism, pain and struggle. However, this decade soon became the new beginning. To escape the horrendous reality of being unemployed and unable to provide for their families, many turned to entertainment to escape the hardships and realities that they were going through. Many families went to church regularly to ask for forgiveness and to hope that things would change for the better.
“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (p.90) Miss. Maudie, one of the main protagonists in To Kill a Mockingbird, warns the young girl Scout that mockingbirds should not to be killed or hunted down because they represent those who are kind and innocent. So, on a broader spectrum, the term “to kill a mockingbird” symbolizes cruel and improper behavior towards people with good hearts and intentions. In the town of Maycomb, unethical behaviors, such as prejudice and gossip, are most commonly used against the “mockingbirds”. Three of those “mockingbirds” that are featured in this novel are Arthur “Boo” Radley, Tom Robinson, and Atticus Finch. Due to the depiction of the mockingbird symbol in the novel, the reader understands the consequences that immoral attitudes have towards those who are innocent and kindhearted.
The novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee is a simplistic view of life in the Deep South of America in the 1930s. An innocent but humorous stance in the story is through the eyes of Scout and Jem Finch. Scout is a young adolescent who is growing up with the controversy that surrounds her fathers lawsuit. Her father, Atticus Finch is a lawyer who is defending a black man, Tom Robinson, with the charge of raping a white girl. The lives of the characters are changed by racism and this is the force that develops during the course of the narrative.
The book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a Pulitzer Prize winning novel. It is set in the 1930s, a time when racism was very prominent. Harper Lee emphasizes the themes of prejudice and tolerance in her novel through the use of her characters and their interactions within the Maycomb community. The narrator of the story, Scout, comes across many people and situations with prejudice and tolerance, as her father defends a black man.
In this world, everyone has an equal right; however, many people are getting falsely accused of acts they did not commit even though they are innocent. Mockingbirds, one of the most innocent birds, sing their heart out for people to enjoy, however, they getting killed every day. In this novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, there are many racial prejudices going on. Finches stand near the top of the social hierarchy, with Cunningham and Ewells underneath. Black community in Maycomb is even below the Ewells, even if they were a hard worker; they were not treated equally. The “mockingbirds” represents the idea of innocence, so killing a mockingbird is to destroy innocence. Throughout the book, many characters are considered a mockingbird. Three examples are Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, and Mr. Dolphus Raymond. Those three characters are innocent; they are kind and were never harmful to others. However, they were destroyed through contact of evil. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, the mockingbirds symbolizes the idea of innocence, and Tom, Boo, and Mr. Raymond are considered one of it.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has been challenged/banned countless times since it’s original publication in 1960. The reasoning people could have behind banning it is that they feel that the racism, language and subject matter in the book is offensive, inappropriate, immoral and that it encourages and condones such things. To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in Maycomb, a small town in Alabama, during the depression from 1935-1937, and is told from the perspective of a little girl named Scout. In the book Scout’s father Atticus teaches her and her brother Jem many valuable lessons. The things Atticus teaches Scout and Jem are things we all need to know. To Kill a Mockingbird is an inspirational book that teaches valuable moral values, and should not be banned.
In this scene, a Mad Rabid dog, named Tim Johnson, comes through the streets of a the town of Maycomb.
To Kill A Mockingbird took place in the 1930’s, a time that was enormously charged with racial tension. One example of this is the existence of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). Even though the KKK was in a time of decline in the 1930’s, it had been very prominent in the 1920’s and had still not completely died out. The KKK had rallies and marches. They even marched in Washington D.C. several times. They burned crosses on the lawns of any white person who would show favor towards blacks in an effort to scare them away from helping black folks. The KKK was an extremely violent group. “While African-Americans still bore the brunt of much Klan violence, Jews and Catholics topped the enemy’s list, followed by immigrants and those who transgressed Klan’s vision of morality” (“History”). The KKK showed their violence in several ways. Lynchings occurred very frequently as did raids of people’s homes.
The novel TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee has numerous accounts of racism and prejudice throughout the entire piece. The novel is set in the 1930's, a time when racism was very prevalent. Although bigotry and segregation were pointed in majority towards blacks, other accounts towards whites were also heard of, though not as commonly. There are acts that are so discreet that you almost don't catch them, but along with those, there are blatant acts of bigotry that would never occur in our time. Lee addresses many of these feelings in her novel.
The book to ‘To kill a mocking-bird’ was written in the 1930’s and explores prejudice against black people. The book is portrayed through the eyes of two innocent children and shows the “irrationality of adult attitudes to race and class in the Deep South [of America] in the thirties. The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina of one mans struggle for justice.”
A Time to Kill and To Kill a Mockingbird both have a number of similarities to be compared and contrasted. Both stories can be compared in their themes about justice and racial prejudice. However, this is where the similarities end. The themes and ideas in both novels are vastly different in shape and scope. In A Time to Kill justice is the main theme and most of the ideas are focused on justice and the gray in between the lines of black and white set by the law, racial prejudice is also touched upon very frequently in the comparisons between Jake Brigance and Carl Lee Hailey and how he wouldn't even have had to face trial if he was a white man. In To Kill a Mockingbird justice is a theme which is not expanded upon or explained in nearly as much detail as it is in A Time to Kill. To Kill a Mockingbird also has a much larger variety in it's themes, ranging from the themes of justice to the exploration of a child's way of perceiving right and wrong as well as the idea of coming of age. These stories are honestly and objectively far more different than they are alike.
To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee's only novel, is a fictional story of racial oppression, set in Maycomb, A.L. in 1925 to 1935, loosely based on the events of the Scottsboro trials. Unlike the story however, the racial discrimination and oppression in the novel very accurately portrays what it was like in the 1920's and 1930's in the south. Tom Robinson, the black man accused of raping a poor low class white girl of 19, never stood a chance of getting a fair trial. This can be supported by giving examples of racially discriminatory and oppressive events that actually took place in the south during the time period in which the novel is based. In addition to actual historical events, events and examples from the book that clearly illustrate the overpoweringly high levels of prejudice that were intertwined in the everyday thinking of the majority of the characters in the book supports the fact that Tom Robinson never stood a chance of getting a fair trial.